What's It Worth If Reperfed?

Time out there, Don. You're changing the game and for that I politely and respectfully suggest a separate thread. I had proposed and discussed this topic from the point of view of buyer demand. Discussing the question from the supply side is a very different topic with other goals. My purpose was solely to understand the motivations and judgments acting on buyers. Fair enough?

Brian, your stamp has an exceptional amount of cross margin stamp design showing. I have little doubt that if it were trimmed it could be submitted for a certificate and would probably get a good one. Ethically that stinks to high heaven. You already know that, and that is not the point of your question, as I take it. You want to know if there is an aesthetic value to doing that. So let us consider the question keeping those two planes apart for a moment.

Since straightedges are not aesthetically desirable to collectors, the advantage of a straightedge here is based on the principle that as a result of the method of manufacture, authentic unaltered straddles "ought" to have a straight edge. Perforations compromise that and should not have been added. Is it a corrective to further reduce the original stamp by removing the fake perforations? That can hardly be called a corrective inasmuch as it does nothing to retore the stamp to ITS original condition. Reducing it to resemble something else that is pleasing is not restorative, it is mimicry. But in this case such a "restorative" further takes away some of the very design elements that distinguish this stamp as extraordinary. That is an aesthetic loss that I submit exceeds the gain in appearance as a lesser stamp. Restoration it is not.

From both an aesthetic and an ethical perspective, there is no justification for attempting to restore what was lost to fake perforations. If a prospective buyer were informed that the stamp had once been larger but fake perfs had been added to the original margin which was subsequently trimmed to remove them, what impact would you expect that to have on his or her interest in the stamp? Would it be positive? Hooray, the fakery has been removed?

I don't think so.

Trimming it would not restore its natural straight edge. It would just remove more of the stamp and trade a fake perfed edge for a fake straight edge.

essayk you said in one of your posts "I have little doubt that if it were trimmed it could be submitted for a certificate and would probably get a good one".

I'm thinking it would not get a certificate at all, there is a big, big difference in natural straight edges and trimmed straight edges! There are a number of ways to check, and in addition, one of these ways is another indication of fake perfs!

Always willing to share my extensive knowledge of stamps.

Dave

Well I'll answer your question about how much I would pay. I already have the stamp & not actively looking for another copy. That's very different from our collector with 500 copies of #114.

I would not bid at all. If I saw it & in the right mood, I may be tempted to put in a bid at $25- just to have a better centered copy. But I wouldn't feel bad if I lost out on it. The whole stamp looks fishy to me - too perfectly centered for that issue. The perfs look weird all the way around. I would want to see the back of the stamp first.

In general, if it is reperfed, I don't want it. I can add that I also do not want repaired, regummed, or basically 're-' anything. I want an original. I'd rather have a stamp with small faults - as long as they're original faults - than a newer/genetically engineered beauty...

mdroth, I've been telling new collectors for years and even more years, always look at the back of stamps.

I fully agree, rather have a perfect stamp, but more than will to have a warm home for an original stamp with original small faults.

Dave